


A Subtle Shift

by MeteoraWrites



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Abusive Madison Clark, Alpha Jake Otto, Alpha Madison Clark, Alpha Troy Otto, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Mpreg, Omega Alicia Clark, Omega Nick Clark, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sibling Bonding, Troy Cooks, Unplanned Pregnancy, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-02-12 16:48:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12963912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeteoraWrites/pseuds/MeteoraWrites
Summary: Nick doesn't look so good. His naturally almost skin looking a bit pale and he smells off. Alicia can't place the smell, but she thinks it means Nick is doing drugs again.Upon confronting Nick, Alicia discovers her brother is pregnant, and it's Troy's baby. Troy doesn't know and Nick isn't sure what to do, he just knows he has to figure it out soon before the rest of the ranch finds out about his situation.~~~~~~~~Suspended indefinitely (Possibly abandoned, I haven't decided yet)





	1. Scents

**Author's Note:**

> anonymous asked:  
> Mpreg request(In a world where it is possible for some men to become pregnant): Nick Clark discovers that he is pregnant with Troy's child, but keeps it a secret. Alycia can tell that something is off, and suspects he is back on drugs. Nick tells her the truth.  
> ~~~  
> Oh, Anon, you have stumbled across a secret weakness of mine. I will so write this. In fact, I think I’m going to make it a multi-chapter story because I need some ABO Trick in my life. So thank you! I’m gonna post the first chapter here then continue it on AO3 after.

It started one morning in the line for breakfast. Nick started to feel queasy at the first whiff of eggs and bacon. He abandoned his tray and left before anyone could ask what was wrong. Alicia attributed it to him getting drunk with some of the other members of the militia the night before and didn’t give his behavior a second thought for the rest of the day.

The second time it happened was in the middle of the next afternoon. Alicia had noticed that Nick smelled off. To be fair, he always smelled off, years of doing drugs had fucked up his scent. But there was a subtle shift taking place in his scent.

His scent had gotten better after he detoxed the last time, but he always carried a faint smell of chemicals and bitter smoke along with his natural scent of citrus and damp earth. He used to smell like a lemon orchard after a rain storm. Now he usually smelled like someone had taken napalm to that orchard and burned part of it to the ground. Some days he you could barely smell the chemicals and smokey tang, others it overpowered the natural smell easily.

Today there was something new there though, and Nick looked pale, which was impressive for his skin tone. She briefly wondered if he was going to go into heat. He hadn’t had one in a few years because of what the drugs had done to his system, but she didn’t remember him smelling even close to how he did now.

“Stop staring at me like that, it’s creeping me out.” Nick joked as he moved to stand from his place at the picnic table they shared. “I feel like shit, I’m gonna go back to my place and lay down.” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand before turning and walking away without giving Alicia a chance to speak.

The third time, they were on the porch of Nick’s house. She had brought him breakfast when he hadn’t come to the line and as they sat on the little chairs he had set out, she could definitely smell something new mixing into his scent that she couldn’t name. “Nick, are you doing drugs again?” She asked, giving her brother a flat look, because if he had found drugs and was using again, she was fucking done.

Nick blinked at that, setting his toast down and wiping his mouth before he spoke. “No, I’m definitely not doing drugs again.” he said with a almost wistful sigh.

“Really? Because you look like shit and you smell different.” Alicia said, crossing her arms over her chest and eyeing her brother suspiciously. He was still looking pale, he had obviously been throwing up at some point in the morning because the smell clung to him, and he was in the same clothes he wore yesterday.

“What do you mean I smell different?” He asked, sniffing at himself a bit. His eyes going wide. “Fuck.” he mumbled.

“Yeah, what is that? If you’re not using then why do you smell like that? You’re not going into heat are you?” She asked, handing her brother his cup of tea when he paled further and looked like he might be sick.

Nick shook his head, taking a sip of the tea before getting up and leaning against the railing of the porch. “If I tell you, you can’t tell anyone.” He said in all seriousness.

Alicia moved to stand. facing him as she leaned her hip against he rail. “What is it? Are you okay?”

“Technically, yes. Emotionally, hell no.” he admitted, licking his lips. “I’m pregnant.” He admitted, not meeting his sister gaze.

“What? But how? Luciana’s a beta and mom said all the drugs fucked up your reproductive system…” She said, trailing off as she tried to figure out how this could be possible.

A mirthless chuckle left Nick’s lips before he turned to face his sister. “I don’t go into heat anymore, but I can still get knocked up, Licia. The doctors at rehab ran some tests for me when I was there the last time. I just never told mom about it because I didn’t want her hounding me to get clean so I could have a family some day.” he admitted, looking like he was about to break. His eyes were tearing up and he looked like he might be sick again.

“Nick.. Who’s the other parent?” Alicia asked, eyeing her brother cautiously. She wanted to hug him, but he looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack on top of being sick.

“Troy.” He admitted before turning and running to the other end of the porch to vomit over the railing.

Alicia ran after him, rubbing his back and shushing him as he continued to be sick a few more times. Once he was finished she wrapped an arm around him and led him back to his chair where she handed him her cup of water to rinse his mouth. “Does he know?”

Nick shook his head, swishing his mouth out before spitting out the water over the railing beside him. “You’re the only one I’ve told. It’s only been two weeks, Licia. I only figured it out when I got sick in the breakfast line a few days ago.” he admitted, voice small.

“Well, I’m here for you, whatever you need I’ll help you through this. But you know people are going to find out about this eventually. You can hide who the father is from the ranch, but you know Troy will put two and two together eventually.” She said, taking Nick’s hand where it sat on the little table and giving it a squeeze.

Nick looked down at their hands, smiling a bit. “You know, when I realized I was pregnant I was terrified. But now… I’m kind of excited… I mean, I know it’s the end of the world, and things are really bad out there, but this feels like something good, you know?”

Alicia smiled at that, giving Nick’s hand a squeeze before moving to stand and look out at the open field that the little house faced. “You know mom is going to freak out, right?”

Nick snorted at that, moving to stand as well and smiling at his little sister. “Yeah, I don’t know who I’m more worried about knowing, her or Troy.”

“Worried about me knowing what?” Came a voice from their left. Looking over Troy was walking down the dirt road that led to the house from the main part of the ranch. He looked genuinely confused he came to a stop with his arms crossing over his chest.

Nick and Alicia traded looks before Nick turned to walk into his house. “Nothing, Troy. Now isn’t a good time. I’ll see you when it's time for us to go on patrol later.”

Troy just blinked dumbly as Nick and Alicia disappeared into the house and closed the door behind them. He had come to see if Nick was alright. He could smell that he’d been sick when the wind shifted, but since his sister was with him, he assumed the younger man would be fine despite his instincts telling him to go take care of him, and he left without protest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you guy's think? I got the prompt and just HAD to write it. I had to. And I was gonna stop there, but i need Troy to find out. Because reasons.


	2. Stomach Flu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I stayed up until 2am talking to Lynne about the story and had to write the next chapter before I could sleep. Now I'm about to go shovel the driveway and get ready for work x.x hope you enjoy, I'll be back with another chapter after I update Say You'll Haunt Me.
> 
> Also I want to note some changes from canon.  
> Madison is the one that killed Jeremiah  
> Troy's men didn't shoot at Walker's people and get the guns taken away  
> Troy didn't get into a shoot out with Walker's men  
> The water is still running out and Madison and Walker are at the bazaar at this very moment meeting Strand and such  
> Nick and Troy slept together the night they rescued Alicia from the reservation  
> Since then Nick has been being cautious around Troy because he wants to be sure Troy really wants to be with him and isn't just being a typical possessive knothead alpha

After hatching a plan to cover for Nick's flu like symptoms for a few days by saying he had the actual stomach flu, Alicia agreed to get him a bottle of prenatal vitamins from the pantry while Nick was doing his patrol tour that evening.

At quarter to four, Nick was showered and dressed in his fatigues. His hair was combed back like he liked it and he had a pocket full of ginger candy to help deal with any morning sickness. Because let's be honest, it's really an all-day thing. Whoever decided to call it morning sickness was a lying bastard. 

Also, he hoped the strong ginger smell would help mask any changes in his scent that might start to shift towards the very obvious smell of a pregnant omega. He found himself grateful for the twisted scent he had developed thanks to those years of drug use. Because with the way he's been feeling, he's positive he'd be starting to give off that sweet smell that makes everyone and their mother want to faun over and protect a pregnant omega.

As Nick walked up the dirt path to the area he was to meet Troy for their shift doing perimeter patrol, he felt his stomach twisting into knots. And not the kind he had been getting from the nausea. He absently reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of candy, crumpling the wrapped and stuffing it in another pocket as he chewed the piece of candied ginger. The spicy of it made his mouth tingle.

As he rounded the barracks, he spotted Troy leaning against the driver's side door of his already running silver pick-up truck, eyeing his watch as he waited for Nick to arrive.

"Hey." Nick said, giving a little wave as he got closer.

Troy's head snapped up and turned to look at Nick as he approached. "There you are, was starting to think you might be too sick to do your job."

"It's just a stomach bug, Troy. I can deal." Nick said, still chewing his piece of ginger candy as he came around to climb into the passenger seat of the truck. "Just take it easy on the hills." 

Troy snorted at that, turning to climb behind the wheel. "You really sure you're up for this? I can get Blake or one of the others to cover."

"I said I'm fine, let's just go." Nick said with a sigh as he sunk down in his seat.

Troy eyed Nick up and down before throwing the truck in gear. "You smell different." He commented.

"I'm sick, what do you expect?" Nick asked, letting his tone go more miserable and irritated than he actually felt in an attempt to cover up the slight fear he was feeling that he might be found out before he's ready.

"It's not really sour though, it's like something else mixed in with the smoky smell... I can't say as I can place it though." Troy said, inhaling audibly through his nose, which was actually pretty fucking rude of him to be so blatantly scenting Nick like that.

"I already told you my hormones are fucked from doing drugs, I never smell like I should. Remember your men had to ask what I was when they brought me at the depot because all they could smell off me was fear and chemicals under the walker blood." Nick reminded, closing his eyes and letting his head tip back against the seat as they drove through the ranch slowly.

"If you say so." Troy said with a small shrug, glancing over at Nick before looking back to the road. They were almost to the gate and he waved to the guards ahead so they would open it for them. "You sure smelled like you were supposed to that night we spent together." He said with a wry grin. He knew it was low to bring that up given how things had been since, but he couldn't help himself.

Nick heaved a sigh at that. "Yeah, well, that's a little different. Slick always smells good to an alpha." He said, finishing with a snort before opening his eyes and fishing another piece of ginger candy out of his pocket.

Troy chuckled at that. "That is true... Been thinking about that scent, actually... I was wondering, when you're feeling better, you wanna come over? Maybe have some dinner? Stay the night?" Troy asked, tone confident though his cheeks were a little pink when Nick looked over at him.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to think about it." Nick said, instantly regretting his words when he could smell the shift in Troy's scent from something light and hopeful to heavy and disappointment. "That's not a no, Troy. I've just got a lot going on and I don't think I'm gonna at be 100 percent any time soon. Rain check?"

"Fine. But I'm gonna hold you to your word." Troy conceded with a brilliant smile. His scent lightening up quickly.

With that Nick let his head fall back against the seat again, his eyes scanning the horizon as they drove along. He breathed deeply through his nose; it helped with the nausea, and inadvertently let him scent the happy alpha beside him. The scent of burning leaves with a hint of wild daisy's that made Nick feel like he was sitting beside a bonfire in the early fall. It made the nausea he'd been feeling for the last few days start to settle more than any tea or ginger candy had been able to thus far.

"You almost smell content over there." Troy said after about an hour of driving in silence. "Your stomach feeling any better?" He asked, glancing over at Nick.

"Yeah. I think it's all the fresh air." Nick said dismissively.

Troy snorted at that. "You live on a ranch; all the air is fresh air."

"Try telling me that again after the cows have been hanging out in front of your house all day." Nick said with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, I've barely left my house in the last few days, so this is a major improvement."

"But I saw you sitting with Alicia yesterday afternoon." Troy said, looking confused.

"Yeah, and after about fifteen minutes I ran home to puke my brains out and regret my life choices." Nick said with a wave of a hand in Troy's direction. 

"If you've been that sick why didn't you tell me?" Troy asked, tone softer than Nick thought he was capable of.

Nick shrugged before shifting in his seat so he was sitting up straighter. "I've been through worse and you've got your hands full keeping the militia in line since Walker's people moved to the ranch. Don't worry about it."

"I can't help worrying." Troy mumbled.

"Please tell me you're not gonna turn into one of those stereotypical alphas that thinks just because we had sex that I'm yours now or some other archaic cliché like that." Nick said tiredly. 

"I'm not my father, Nicky." Troy said, tightening his grip on the wheel a bit reflexively. "I hold no illusions that you belong to me, and I certainly don't expect you to be with me if that's not what you want." He defended, scent going sour with hurt and filling the cab of the truck thickly despite the open windows.

"Troy, pull over." Nick said suddenly.

"What, why?" Troy asked, anger bleeding out of him at the look on Nick's face.

"Because I don't want to puke all over your truck." Nick said, stomach rolling as he stuck his face out the open window in case Troy didn't hit the breaks in time.

A moment later they were stopped and Nick was out of the door of the truck in a flash. Troy watched with wide eyes as he staggered away a few feet and emptied his stomach beside a fence post. When he was done Nick fell to his knees, hands on the post to keep him steady as he gasped for breath. When he opened his eyes, Troy was crouching beside him, a handkerchief in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.

"Easy there." Troy said, holding out both items for Nick to take. He clicked his tongue as he looked down at the mess Nick had made; impressed he didn't get any on himself.

"Thanks." Nick said, wiping his mouth with the offered piece of cloth before handing it back and taking a swig of water to rinse his mouth out.

"You sure you wanna stay on patrol? I can take you home and get one of the others to cover." Troy offered once again.

Nick shook his head no before forcing himself to standing. "I'll be fine. Might have to do that a couple more times before the night's through, though." He said as he held a hand out to help Troy up.

Troy took the offered hand, smiling at Nick. "Alright. There's some crackers in the glove box. Figured you might need 'em."

Nick just smiled at that and turned to walk back to the waiting truck. He was starting to feel like telling Troy about his situation might go better than he originally thought. Though he still wasn't even close to ready to tell him, or anyone else for that matter. So, he said nothing of it, and the rest of their patrol went by fairly uneventfully. That is aside for the few times they had to stop so Nick could throw up again. By the end of the night he was so miserable from it that everyone believed him when he said it was a stomach flu. He was sent home with several cans of soup and orders to take a few days off work until he was better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think?


	3. Mother Knows Best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I was gonna wait to post this, but I woke up with anxiety thanks to the permit test I have this afternoon and I figured fuck it. In other words I've been editing this fic instead of studying. Hope you enjoy. I'm gonna go work on Say You'll Haunt Me now.

Over the next few days Nicks morning sickness didn't really get any better, but it also didn't get any worse. So, he considered that a win for the time being.  

It was three days into his sick leave and he was bored out of his mind.  A bored Nick was not a good thing. So, after drinking some tea and eating a few pieces of ginger candy, he got dressed in some clean clothes and set out to find Troy. 

Alicia had been by that morning and informed him he was starting to smell sweet as she made him breakfast. It was so subtle that if someone didn't spend time with him regularly they would probably mistake it for being his natural scent. Not the scent of a pregnant omega. He was grateful for that bit of info because he had the smell of vomit stuck in his sinuses and he couldn't get past that. 

Nick had a plan. He was going to ask Troy to talk, bring him back to the house, sit him down and tell him about his situation. He realized now that he really trusted Troy. The final shred of evidence came when he asked for some space on the first day of his sick leave. Troy had looked like a kicked puppy, but he agreed to let Nick rest. Most alphas would have argued or just shoved him aside and let themselves into the house uninvited. But not Troy. 

He took that as a sign of how serious Troy was about wanting to respect Nick and earn his trust as a potential mate. 

A few farmers spotted Nick as he walked along, waving and asking if he was feeling any better. He waved back and shouted that yeah, he was, but he wasn't 100 percent yet. They wished him well and with that he kept walking. 

Troy was standing outside his house when Nick finally spotted him. He was in his civilian clothes, but he looked like he was on a mission as he spoke on his walkie talkie. 

"Everything alright?" Nick hollered once Troy was off the walkie. 

Troy blinked, pausing on his way to his truck. "Yeah, everything's fine. Your mom and Walker are at the front gate. They've got a truck full of water." He explained as Nick continued his approach. "How are you feeling?" He asked, looking Nick up and down. He was still kind of pale, but he looked better than he had the last time he saw him. 

"A bit, yeah. Listen, do you have time to talk? It's kind of important." Nick asked, squinting at Troy in the bright noontime sun. 

Troy shook his head. "I need to go meet with Madison and Walker right now. Can it wait a bit? I can come by your place when I'm finished with them. Probably be an hour or two." He said, still eyeing Nick cautiously.  

Nick nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sure. Sounds good. I'll see you then." He said, giving a small smile and wave before watching Troy climb behind the wheel and speed off towards the main gate of the ranch. 

Heaving a sigh Nick spun on his heel and headed for the pantry. He was almost out of soup and he honestly could go for something with a little more substance at this point. He absently rubbed at his lower stomach as he walked. "I swear, if you don't ease up and let me eat some real food soon neither one of us is going to make it through this." He mumbled under his breath. 

Nick grabbed a light lunch at the mess area of a grilled cheese and yet more soup before filling a box with food from the pantry and heading home. So far, his stomach was holding up as he made his way along the dirt path to home. Though he suddenly felt nauseous when he saw his mother stepping out of his front door with a serious look on her face. 

"Hey, mom, how was your trip? I heard you came back with water." Nick said, trying to hide his nerves as he stepped up onto the little porch to meet his mother's stern gaze. 

"Nick, what are you doing out walking around, Troy and Alicia said you were sick." She said, taking the box of food from her son and turning to bring it inside for him. 

"It's just a stomach bug, mom. I'll be fine. Besides you know how bored I get sitting around." He said lightly, praying to god he had remembered to put the bottle of prenatal vitamins back in the drawer beside his bed this morning. 

"You should have asked Alicia to get you these instead of doing it yourself. You're know you'll just take longer to recover if you keep pushing yourself." Madison chided as she started to empty the contests of the box onto the little kitchen counter of the house. 

Nick heaved a sigh and took a seat at the table that he had positioned under the front window. "The fresh air did me some good. I haven't even thrown up since this morning. I even ate lunch with no problem." He said as he looked around. He didn't see the bottle of vitamins on the bedside table, so he must have put them away. Either that or Licia did when she was making him breakfast. 

"That’s good to hear, sweetheart. But I still wish you would take better care of yourself." She said, turning to start putting things away in the few cabinets and shelves Nick had built before he was hit by the morning sickness and hadn't had the energy to continue. 

"I swear, I really am trying." Nick said with a sigh, rubbing his stomach absentmindedly when she wasn’t looking. 

"Good." Madison said, pausing mid-stretch to put a can on a shelf. "Nick.." She said slowly. "Care to explain something to me?" She asked, setting the can down and picking something up off the counter that Nick couldn't see. 

"What?" Nick asked, dumbfounded as to what could be over there besides his dirty dishes and some stray nails from hanging shelves. 

When Madison turned around she was holding a bottle. And not just any bottle, but the ones clearly marked prenatal vitamins. 

Nick felt a cold sweat break out all over his body at the look on his mom's face as she held up the bottle for him to see. "That... wasn't there when I left earlier..." He lied miserably. 

"Oh, really? Then where did they come from? Who do they belong to, Nick? Luciana? Did you let her leave knowing she was pregnant!?!?" Madison demanded, slamming the bottle down on the table and getting in Nick's face. The smell of angry alpha filling the room quickly. "Answer me, Nick!" 

Nick cowered in his seat, making himself as small as possible. Fearing he was about to be hit, he raised his hands defensively in front of his face. "No, mom! I would never have let her go if she was pregnant! I would have gone after her, you have to believe me!" He said in a rush, trying to think of a cover. He didn't want her to know, not before he could talk to Troy. 

"Then who's are they? Because I just left Alicia and if she was pregnant and far enough alone to know she needed vitamins I would have been able to smell it on her." She said, raising a hand to hit her son. She froze when Nick sank down lower in his seat further, eyes closing tight.  

Nick cracked an eye open when no strike came, and he looked up at his mother who was frozen in place with wide eyes. "You.. They're yours..." She said softly, lowering her hand. 

"What? No, mom, you told me yourself that I can't..." Nick defended weakly, catching a hint of his own fear tinged scent and trailing off. His stupid hormones had picked right then to do what they're supposed to and give off not only the scent of a scared omega, but of a pregnant one at that. It was still warped smelling, but there was the sweet smell of something akin to ripe strawberries mixing with the smoke and chemicals and rainy lemon orchard. He felt like he was about to be sick. 

"For Christ's sake, Nick, stop lying to me for once in your life." Madison said, tone disappointed as she pulled over a chair and sat in front of her son, taking his still upheld hands in her own gently. "When were you gonna tell me?" 

Swallowing back to rising urge to vomit, Nick cleared his throat. "In a few days... I wanted to talk to the Alpha first..."  

"They don't know? Have you told anyone?" Madison asked, rubbing her son's hands lovingly. 

"No, I was going to talk to them tonight. Licia knows. She noticed I'd been sick and accused me of doing drugs again. I had to tell her." He said with a small smile. 

"How did this even happen? You were with Luciana and then you were so upset when she left I thought for sure you would end up going after her." Madison said, looking Nick in the eyes. "And I thought the drugs did too much damage to your body for you to get pregnant?" 

"Last time I was in rehab I asked the doctors to run some tests. It turns out I can still get pregnant, I just don't go into heat anymore. They said the odds were slim, but that anything was possible." He said, licking his lips and swallowing hard. "As for the how, one-night stand. I was kind of keyed up after we rescued Alicia and things just sort of happened." He explained. Trying hard not to give any hints as to the other parent. 

"So, who's the father, someone else in the militia?" Madison asked, face going thoughtful as she tried to guess who it might be. 

Nick scoffed at that. "I'm the damn father, I'm male, mom. Don't start that 'omegas are the mom' crap with me again." He said as he took his hands away. 

"Settle down, Nick, you know what I mean." Madison said tiredly, having heard this argument before many times over the years.

"Yeah, mom, I do. Look, I'm not comfortable saying until I talk to them, okay." He said with a sigh as he moved to stand and finish putting away his food. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't say anything about this to anyone until I'm ready." 

"I have a right to know who knocked up my son in the middle of the damn apocalypse, Nick." Madison said, anger coming back as she stood as well and turned to face him. 

"Actually, mom, you don't. I'm an adult, and this is my life. If and when I want people to know who the other parent of MY child is, I'll let you know. So, for now, just back off." Nick said resolutely, glaring daggers at his mother who was glaring right back. 

After a beat Madison turned on her heel and stormed out of the house. 

"Where are you going?" Nick yelled, going after her. 

"To find out who the father of my grandchild is!" Madison yelled right back, storming off down the dirt path to the main part of the ranch. 

"Shit!" Nick cursed, quickly closing the door and running after his mother, who had broken into a run of her own and was already a good distance away. This day was not going anywhere near how he had planned it and it was only getting worse. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, what do you think? Who's ready for everything to blow up?


	4. Truths Spoken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I failed my permit test. Get to take it again in two weeks and this time I'll put more effort into studying.  
> Anyway my brain has been stuck on this story so I'm writing as much of it as I can then going back to my other stories. I promise I'm not abandoning anything.

When Madison reached the center of the ranch, the whole militia and half of the residents were gathered to collect water and help with the storage barrels for the rest. The bulk of the militia members were in uniform and sticking out like sore thumbs, but Madison would have recognized them anyway. She stormed up to the lot of them and looked them over. "Alright, which one of you knotheads knocked up my kid!" She demanded, voice dripping rage and scent radiating waves of pissed off alpha. 

Everything came to a screeching halt around her right then and there, all eyes turning to Madison. 

"Come again?" Blake asked, taking a step forward to meet Madison's murderous gaze. 

"Madison, what are you talking about? Alicia isn't pregnant." Came the confused voice of Jake, who was standing with Troy and Walker beside the water truck. Both of the Otto brothers looked extremely confused as they traded looks before putting their full attention on Madison again. 

"Not Alicia, Nick! I want to know which one of you morons got my son pregnant!" She demanded, looking back to Blake and poking him in the chest. "Was it you?" 

Blake took a step back on instinct, he may be an alpha, but he knew better than to mess with another alpha when it came to their family. Especially when that Alpha is the mother. "No, ma'am."  

A moment later Nick was running up and grabbing his mother by the arm, spinning her to face him. "What are you doing! Are you insane!" He screamed at her. 

"Am I insane? You let one of them get you pregnant and then tried to lie to me about it!" She yelled right back as she pulled her arm free of Nick's grip. 

"And you just told the whole fucking ranch my personal business! I told you I didn't want people knowing yet! If you don't back the hell off right now I swear I will pack my shit and leave! You'll never see me or this baby again!" Nick said coldly with a glare that made several of the onlookers move back a step. 

Madison squinted at him, tilting her head a little in disbelief. "You wouldn't dare." 

"Try me. You know I can get by on my own out there just fine." Nick said, squaring his shoulders and holding his ground. There was a slight breeze blowing and he knew that even if his mom hadn't just announced his condition for the whole ranch, they would have been able to smell it after his running a quarter mile. He could smell it all over himself now. The smell of a very angry and most definitely pregnant omega. 

"You wouldn't risk the baby like that." Madison argued, stepping into Nick's space and staring him down. 

Nick snorted. "I'd rather take my chances out there than stay with someone who thinks she has the right to control my life! I'm almost twenty years old! Stop treating me like a child and let me deal with this how I see fit. If I wanted you to know who the other parent was, I would have told you. You need to respect that and let me handle things myself." He finished, sparing an apologetic look over at Troy.  

To the onlookers it just looked like he was showing that he was sorry to their leaders for causing a scene. Really it was him shooting Troy a silent apology for him finding out like this. With that he turned on his heel and headed home. 

"Nick, wait!" Madison shouted, she went to go after him, but suddenly Alicia was at her side grabbing her arm. 

"Let him go, mom, you're just making things worse." She said, looking around at all the shocked and scandalized faces. "And you, I expect you all to leave my brother the hell alone. If I hear even one of you has been bothering him I will personally kick your ass." She said before taking her mother's hand and leading her off to the house to talk in private. 

Troy leaned into Jake's side once the Clarks were all gone, whispering in his brother's ear. "I should go see if Nick is alright..." . 

"You heard, Alicia, that might be a bad idea." Jake warned, giving his brother a stern look. 

"Brother, trust me, I'm probably the one person he wants to talk to right now." He said, giving Jake an almost bashful wide-eyed look. 

Realization dawned on Jake and he quickly nodded, clapping a hand on Troy's shoulder. "Yeah, alright, go. Good luck." He said before pulling Troy into a quick hug. 

With that Troy was walking away from the gossiping masses and towards the house to get his truck. He took his time, wanting to give Nick at least a few minutes alone to breathe before he found him. In those few minutes Troy's mind was stuck in a loop. 

Nick was pregnant. Nick was pregnant, and it had to be his baby. Why else would Nick have asked him to come talk? Why else would he have looked at Troy like that before he walked away just now? Luciana was a beta, so the baby had to be his. 

As Troy's truck rounded the slight hill that set Nick's home apart from the rest of the ranch, he saw Nick walking through his front door. He drove up slowly, parking out front. Once the engine was off he found it hard to get himself to move. It wasn't that far. A few steps then he would be at the door and they could talk.  

He wasn't sure how long he sat there before finally Nick was standing in the open doorway of his house looking out at him. He had his arms crossed over his chest and he looked exhausted as he stared out at Troy with unblinking brown eyes. 

Heaving a sigh, Troy threw open the door of the pick-up and stepped out to stand a moment before the slightly shorter man. "You're pregnant." He said, blinking owlishly down at Nick. The omega smelled nervous, and afraid, but underneath that he smelled like he was a little hopeful. 

Nick nodded, biting his lower lip as he looked up to meet Troy's gaze. "I am. And if you couldn't guess from the little family angst fest back there, it's yours." 

Troy felt his face break into a broad smile at those words, a warm feeling spreading throughout his chest. "We're gonna be dads?" He asked, voice betraying how happy Nicks words made him. 

Nick found himself returning Troy's smile at his choice of those words "Yeah, we are." He said with another small nod. "You wanna come in? We have a lot to talk about." He said, stepping back to allow the taller man entrance to his home. 

"Yeah, we do." Troy agreed, stepping in and moving to sit at the small table that was positioned by the front window. 

A moment later Nick joined him and folded his hands on the wooden surface before him. "So..." 

"I'm gonna hazard a guess that this was what you asked me to come talk to you about earlier?" Troy asked, sensing that Nick wasn't sure where to begin. 

"Yeah. I'm sorry you had to find out the way you did. I wanted to tell you first, I swear." Nick said, looking Troy in the eyes. 

"What happened before Madison came and started accusing half the militia of knocking you up? When I saw you an hour ago you didn't smell..." He trailed off, not sure how to describe the new scent other than pregnant and he wasn't sure if he should just say that or not. 

"Pregnant? Mom found the bottle of prenatal vitamins Licia got me and lost it. She thought they belonged to Luciana and when I swore up and down they weren't she got violent and I guess my hormones went into overdrive to try and protect me and the baby..." Nick said, sniffing at himself again. "I smell kind of like strawberries..." He noted, face scrunching in confusion. 

"What do you mean she got violent?" Troy asked, tone cautious. He was fairly sure he wasn't going to like the answer he was about to receive. 

"She was going to hit me..." Nick said with a shrug, no longer meeting Troy's gaze. He'd never even told Alicia what his mother would do to him. Telling Troy was about as hard as he thought telling her would be. "I closed my eyes and when I opened them again she was just staring at me like she couldn't believe what was happening." 

"So, she didn't...?" Troy asked, barely keeping his anger towards Nick's mother in check. He looked up to her, saw her as the mother he never had, and now he finds out she's been deceiving him. She's just as bad as his own parents were. 

"What? No, not this time anyway." Nick said, finally meeting Troy's gaze again. "Anyway, I think all the fear sent my body into overdrive and it decided to do its job and produce chemo signals like it's supposed to for a change... At least partially, anyway... I don't think I'll ever lose the burnt smell from doing drugs..." 

"I like the burnt smell..." Troy said, putting a hand over Nick's on the table. "So, what is it you want to talk about. You asked me here, you take lead." 

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Nick considered his words carefully a moment. "What is it you want with me?" 

Troy blinked dumbly at that. "What do you mean?" 

"I mean do you just want to fuck me? Do you want to date me? Do you want me as your mate?" Nick asked, giving Troy a flat look. He want an honest answer, un affected by his own feelings. 

"I wanna date you." Troy said, giving Nick a smile. "And I want you as my mate someday. But only if you want those things too. I want you, Nick. And I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be good enough for you. You and our baby." He said in total honesty.  

"Is the fact that I'm pregnant affecting your feelings for me?" Nick asked, his nervousness getting the better of him and making his scent shift a bit. 

Troy snorted at that. "I admit it does make me want to be with you more, but I've wanted to be with you since that night you had me pinned out in the desert with a gun to my head." He said with a mischievous smirk. 

Nick rolled his eyes at that. "Stockholm syndrome, got it." He joked, smiling at the face Troy made. 

"You know what I mean. I'd never met an omega that had the balls to kick my ass and call me out on my shit before. You're unlike anyone I've ever met, Nicky." Troy said, licking his lips and eyeing Nick up and down before making eye contact again. "All my life I was told to act like a real alpha; find a beta or omega to take care of the house and kids. One that does everything I tell them without question. But none of that ever interested me. That's not what I want. I want you. You challenge me. You make me see the big picture. No one's ever made me think or feel the way you do." 

Nick listened to Troy's words carefully, the smile on his face growing wider as he went on. "Alright." He said once Troy was finished baring his soul. 

"Alright?" Troy asked, blinking in confusion. 

"Alright, we can give this a shot." Nick clarified. "I feel the same, Troy. I never wanted to be an omega. I never wanted to be treated as an object or less of a man because of some twist of biology. You don't treat me like that. You let me join the militia when the others said it was a bad idea, and you've showed me that you respect me as a person. I trust you. And I trust that you'll continue to respect me and what I want." 

Troy nodded quickly, both hands now holding Nicks. "Of course. I'd do anything for you, Nick." He said, leaning over the table a bit. "I really want to kiss you right now." He said, smiling. 

With a laugh Nick leaned in the rest of the way and kissed Troy, putting all his joy and affection into the simple action. 

Troy returned the kiss, humming happily before they parted. "So how long should we let the ranch gossip before telling them I'm the other parent?" 

Nick snorted a laugh at that. "Let's give them a day or two. Licia will be able to keep mom away at least that long." He said with an evil glint in his eye. 

"She isn't going to be happy when she finds out it's me, is she." Troy said, expression and scent going a little sad. 

"Probably not, but I don’t give a damn what she thinks. You're the one I want to be with and we're having a baby. She can accept that or take a hike for all I care." Nick said, giving Troy's hands a reassuring squeeze. 

Troy smiled at that. "I like hearing you say that." 

"Hearing me say what?" Nick asked, leaning back in his chair. 

"We're having a baby." He said, tone soft. "I never thought I'd have kids. Never wanted to be with anyone before you..." He admitted, rubbing Nicks hands where he still held them, 

"Yeah? Well we've got at least 8 and a half more months of me saying it before they're born. So, expect to hear it a lot." Nick said as he leaned in to kiss Troy again.  

They talked or a while longer before Troy left to talk to his brother. He returned later that night on foot, not wanting anyone to grow suspicious as to his whereabouts or come to any conclusions about them before they were ready for the word to get out. They stayed up late discussing what they want for the future and fell asleep in each other's arms.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw, if anyone was interested in sending me a request on my tumblr, I have a few I'm working on at the moment but I'm always accepting new ones. Also it's snowing here so that means I'll probably have a lot more time to sit and write.


	5. Choices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've decided to take a short break from writing. I feel like crap and while I really enjoy writing, I think I need to take a short break.  
> That said, this chapter's a short one. I couldn't think of anything to stretch it. Hope you all enjoy.  
> Edit: As proof of how tired I am, I didn't realize that the fucking computer didn't copy the right chapter and I accidentally posted 4 twice. Ugh. Fixed it thought after 4 tires. Onedrive is a real bitch about copying text

Troy staying the night, as it turned out, was the best idea ever because Nick slept better than he had in weeks. The smell of content alpha helped keep his stomach settled most of the night. He only got sick once and that was when Troy was heating them up some dinner. The smell of tomato soup just was not something he could deal with in his current condition apparently. 

They had fallen asleep with Troy pressed to Nick's back. Nick was using Troy's left arm as a pillow and Troy had his right hand resting over Nick's lower stomach protectively. It made Nick feel oddly safe and the warmth radiating from Troy's hands felt good.  

At some point in the night Nick and rolled around, tucking his face in against Troy's throat to scent him in his sleep while Troy's nose was buried in Nick's hair doing the same.  

They awoke to the sound of the door opening and a loud gasp. 

Troy opened his eyes first, blinking against the harsh early morning light that filtered in around the figure in the doorway. 

Madison was stood there, eyes wide as she took in the sight of Troy wrapped protectively around Nick, both clad in just their boxers as they slept half covered by a thin blanket. She had a box in one hand, the other was still on the door knob. "You have got to be kidding me." She said after a beat. 

Nick rolled onto his back, blinking over at his mother. "Don't you know how to knock?" He grumbled before pushing himself up to sit.  

"Tell me this doesn't mean what I think it does, Nick." Madison said slowly, stepping in and setting the box she carried on the table. 

"This means exactly what you think it does, mom." Nick said tiredly as he ran a hand through his hair, pushing the scraggly brown locks up from his forehead and back the way he liked to keep them. 

"Nick, he tried to kill you less than a month ago! How could you sleep with him! Let alone let him get you pregnant!" Madison spat harshly. 

"Seriously, mom? He's done more for me in the last few weeks then you have in years! And you're going to bring up what happened at the depot? Walker literally killed Travis! But I see that hasn't stopped you from being all buddy buddy with him, now has it?" Nick shot back, glaring daggers at his mother and radiating the smell of angry omega; the smoky notes of his scent getting stronger and more acrid.

"Why you little! My amnesty towards Walker is for the sake of this ranch and everyone on it! If I didn't find a way to work with him we would all be dead now. Don't mistake my being civil around him for anything more than that." 

"Madison." Troy said, now sitting up beside Nick and wrapping a protective arm around the shorter man's shoulders. "With all due respect, do you have a point?" 

Madison balked at that. "My point is that I won't stand for this! It's insane! I'm not going to stand by and let my son ruin his life with you!" 

Nick snorted at that statement and Troy chuckled. 

"Mom, you have absolutely zero say here. The fact of the matter is Troy is the other parent to my child, and we're going to give being together a shot. You can accept that and be happy for us, or you can get lost." Nick said, voice taking on a slightly manic tone as he told his mother off. 

"What do you mean 'get lost'?" Madison asked, eyeing her son suspiciously. 

"I spoke to Jake last night, we agreed that if you do anything to try and interfere with Nick and me being together, or if you try to cause any trouble for us around the ranch, you're out." Troy explained calmly. 

"Don't be ridiculous, the ranch needs me! I set up the trade with the dam for the water!" 

"You did, by promising to bring Ofelia to meet with her father. We spoke with her as well and she said she would do what she could to ensure the trade agreement holds. With or without you." Troy said with an easy smile, his voice calm but holding a tone of utter seriousness. "So, I want you to leave now, and think long and hard about your options here. Don't come back until you're willing to talk. And I do mean talk, not throw insults and threats." 

Madison just stared in shock, only moving when an honest to god growl started from deep in Troy's throat at her hesitation to leave. She turned and walked away quickly, the door slamming behind her. 

Once the door was closed Troy stopped growling. He cleared his throat before looking to Nick, who had turned slightly to look at him with one eyebrow raised. "Sorry..." He said, blinking a few times as if he hadn't realized what he had been doing. 

"Don't be, you're hot when you intimidate other alphas." Nick said with a smirk. 

Troy smiled back before looking over to the box Madison left on the table. "What do you think she brought you?" He asked, letting his arm slip from around Nick's shoulders. 

Nick hummed in thought as he turned to look at the box in question. "Probably more food or something." He said before moving to stand and stretch his arms above his head with a groan. "When I first presented as an omega she would go on these rant's about how important it is to take care of myself and eat right, especially when I'm mated and expecting. I hated it so much. I mean, what twelve-year-old wants to hear all that crap?" Nick said as he made his way over to inspect the contents of the box. 

"The only thing my dad told me when I presented was don't knot everyone I fuck and don't forget to stock my room with food and water when I'm going into a rut." Troy said as he scratched at his jaw absently. 

Nick snorted a laugh at that. "That why you asked before knotting me?" He said with a smirk before turning to look through the box. 

"I didn't want to do something you might not want." He said with a shrug before climbing out of bed and coming to stand behind Nick. "So, what is it?" 

Nick heaved a sigh as he held up a book. "Pregnancy books and more vitamins." He grumbled before dropping the book back into the box. "All crap I had to learn at school after I presented." 

Troy reached around Nick to pick the book back up. "They made you learn this in school?" He asked as he inspected the cover of a book about dealing with the effects of pregnancy in omega males. 

"Yup. Omega and Woman's studies. It was like health class but only for people who can get knocked up. I know more about my reproductive system than I ever wanted." He said with a mock shudder. "Anyway, I aced the stupid class and mom knows it, I don't get why she brought these." 

"Maybe she brought them for me to read?" Troy mused, flipping the book to skim the back cover before dropping it back in the box and wrapping his arms around Nick's torso and pull him close so his back was flush against Troy's chest. "Or, ya'know, whoever she was hoping got you pregnant." 

"Yeah, maybe." Nick said with a sign as he let himself lean back against Troy. "I still can't believe she went up to the whole militia like that... And in front of the whole freaking community at that..." 

"Yeah, given the time she literally stabbed me with a spoon, nothing she does really surprises me." Troy said with a snort before tilting his head down to scent Nick's neck just behind his ear. "You smell better today. How are you feeling?" 

"Aside from pissed at my mom? Fine. A little nauseous, but that won't go away for a few more months." Nick said, tilting his head to the side just a little and letting Troy scent him better. 

"Anything I can do to help?" Troy asked, nuzzling at Nick's neck a bit absently with his eyes closed. 

"Stick around a while longer? Your scent's been helping settle my stomach." Nick admitted with a small smile. "Last night was the first time in almost a week that I didn't wake up in the middle of the night to go barf my brains out." 

Troy let out a little chuckle at that admission. "I have the next two days free, I'll stick around as long as you'll have me." 

"In that case let's go back to bed, It's too damn early." Nick said as he slipped out of Troy's hold and moved the short distance back to the bed. 

Troy followed without protest, climbing in under the covered behind Nick and pulling him close. The combinations of their contented scent's lulling them back to sleep quickly. 


	6. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, new chapter! After this I need to work on a few of my teen wolf stories, so it'll be a bit before another update.

Two days and multiple excuses to not leave Nick's house later, Troy and Nick decided it was time to face the music and head to breakfast together. They got up early enough for Nick to have a cup of tea to settle his stomach before they got dressed and headed out the door. 

"Who do you think will be the first to say something?" Nick asked as they walked along the dirt road together. 

"Probably Coop. He tends to run his mouth when he's surprised." Troy guessed, stuffing his hands in his pockets as they went. 

Nick snorted a laugh at that. "Yeah, probably." He said, licking his lips and looking around a bit nervously as they reached the edge of the area that housed the bulk of the trailers and barracks. He was not looking forward to this, not one bit. They hadn't heard from his mom since she walked in on them a few days ago and she would definitely be at breakfast with everyone. Probably seething over their being together. 

"You must really be anxious, I can actually smell it on you." Troy said, tone giving way to how surprised he actually was by that fact. 

"We haven't heard anything from my mom since she walked in on us. What if she goes ballistic when she sees us?" Nick said, slowing his pace a bit to prolong their walk to the mess area. 

"She goes ballistic and my men will be on her before she can even think of touching one of us." Troy said easily, pulling his right hand from his pocked to reach over and take Nick's left. He threaded their fingers together and gave a gentle squeeze before pulling Nick close to his side. "It's gonna be fine, relax."  

"Easier said than done." Nick mumbled as they rounded the corner of the last trailer that separated them from the view of everyone in the mess area. 

At first no one noticed the two of them approaching, all too busy chatting and eating. But the moment they walked up and grabbed their trays for breakfast, the buzzing chatter died down to a handful of hushed whispers. All eyes training on the two of them as they grabbed their food. 

Nick tried to ignore them, but Troy didn't. After grabbing some food, he turned around and cleared his throat loudly. When that didn't stop the all of whispering, he set his tray aside and whistled loudly to get everyone to shut up. "Alright, enough." He said, voice raised and projecting to be heard clearly by all. "You've all had time to gossip and speculate and that ends now. Me and Nick are together and we're expecting a baby. Now stop flapping your jaws and get on with your day. If any of you have any questions, ask us directly or shut the hell up because I don't wanna hear any of you talking about my family behind our backs." 

Nick stood beside Troy, eyes a bit wide with shock as he stared at the taller man. Troy had his hands on his waist as he gave those sitting at the tables around them a stern look. After no one spoke up Troy turned to Nick and smiled. 

"Come on." Troy said, grabbing his tray from where he'd set it beside the coffee pots and leading the two of them to the table that Alicia and Jake were sitting at off to the far end of the seating area. 

As they walked past a table that a few of the militia and non-militia men sat at together, someone mumbled "Never thought I'd see an Otto hook up with a dirty Mexican." 

Troy didn't seem to hear the comment, but Nick did, and he paused mid step to turn and look at the cluster of men. Blake and Coop were there, but both were wide eyed like they couldn't believe what they'd just heard. The only person that looked like he didn't give a fuck was Dax, who was chewing something and pointedly looking at Nick. 

"What was that?" Nick asked, raising a brow at the older man in challenge to say something like that again. 

"I said, chupa mi verga." He said with a grin before stuffing a piece of bacon in his mouth. 

"The fuck did you just say to me?" Nick asked, honestly having no idea what that means but pissed that Dax was being so flippant. 

Troy turned back to look at Nick and the men he stood before. "What's going on?" He asked, stepping beside Nick and giving the men at the table a hard look. The scent of pissed off alpha already starting to roll off him. 

"Dax just called Nick a dirty Mexican, then told him to suck his dick." Coop said, going a bit pale as he scooched over on the bench a bit to get some distance between himself and Dax. 

"Oh? Is that so?" Troy asked, his expression going from hard to outraged as he looked to the man in question, who continued to chew his food and stare Nick dead on. 

"I'm just a little surprised you'd go for someone like him." Dax said, waving his fork at Nick. "I mean, yeah, he's an omega and not bad on the eyes, but he smells off and he's obviously not someone your father would've approved of." Dax explained, finally looking from Nick to meet Troy's gaze now. 

In an instant Troy had dropped his tray and was hauling Dax up from his seat by his collar to stand before him. "You've got five seconds to take that shit back and apologize before I drag you out of here and feed you to the dead, am I understood!" Troy spat in Dax's face. 

"What's the matter, can't handle the truth?" Dax said, hands grabbing hold of Troy's wrist in an attempt to get the pissed off alpha to loosen his grip a bit. 

"First of all, Nick isn't Mexican. Second, I happen to like how he smells. And Third, my father liked Nick. More than that he gave him the house on the edge of the ranch that used to be our family home, and helped him rebuild it. Now, does that sound like something my father would have done if he didn't find Nick worthy of being part of the family?" Troy asked, shaking Dax for emphasis with each point he made and tightening his grip just enough that the beta was struggling to breathe properly. 

"N-no." Dax managed to grunt out. 

"Right. Now, I'm only gonna tell you this one more time. Apologize for all the shit you just talked or I will make you regret it." Troy ordered, a hint of a growl slipping into his words as he spoke. 

When Dax hesitated Troy growled low and spun him to face Nick, who was still standing to the side with his tray in hand and a surprised expression on his face. 

"Shit! Sorry. I'm sorry, okay! I take back what I said!" Dax squawked as he tried not to trip over his own feet at being spun around to face Nick. 

"I don't accept your apology." Nick said, expression setting into a look of annoyance. "And for future reference, my father was black. I'm half Afro-Jamaican, not Mexican, dumbass." He said before turning and walking over to take a seat with a surprised looking Alicia and Jake. 

With that Troy let his hold on Dax go and pushed him to the ground before brushing off his hands and turning to go get himself a new tray of food. "Clean that shit up." He said as he stepped over Dax where he laid sprawled in the dirt, gasping for air. 

A few people clapped, one wolf whistled, but mostly the residents of the ranch remained silent. 

"Well, that was exciting." Alicia said from her place across from Nick, giving her brother a grin when he looked from Troy to her. 

"Yeah, any more excitement and I'm gonna barf." Nick said flatly with a shake of his head before picking up a fork and beginning to poke at his breakfast. 

"You're three weeks pregnant, everything makes you barf." Troy quipped as he came to sit beside Nick with a fresh tray of food. 

"Touche." Nick said before stuffing a bite of eggs into his mouth. 

"You didn't tell me your father was black." Jake said, looking at Alicia over his coffee mug. 

Both Nick and Alicia laughed at that. 

"Does it matter?" Alicia asked, giving Jake a skeptical look. Who would have thought the more liberal of the two Otto boys would have something to say about the Clark siblings' ethnicity? 

"No, I just wouldn't have guessed it." Jake said with a shrug before taking a sip of his coffee. "By the way, I'm proud of you, Troy. I thought for sure you would have at least broken Dax's nose for something like that." He said, reaching across the table to pat his little brother on the shoulder. 

Troy grinned at that. "Spending all that time with Nick must be having an effect on me." He said, sparing Nick a glance before looking down at his tray and starting in on his breakfast. 

"So," Nick said after a few minutes of relative silence. "where's mom?" He asked, looking around at the other tables before looking back to Alicia and Jake. 

"She's at the dam with Taqa and Ofelia working on the final details of the trade agreement. She left after she went to see you the other morning. I thought she would have told you she was leaving." Jake explained. 

Nick and Troy traded glances, Nick looking relieved and Troy surprised. 

"Something wrong?" Alicia asked, looking back and forth between the two of them. 

"She sort of walked in on us that morning." Nick admitted awkwardly. 

"Define 'walked in on'?" Alicia asked, one eyebrow raised. 

"We were just sleeping." Troy said with a snort. 

"Yeah, in our underwear, and she just walked right in and started yelling at us." Nick added with a heavy sigh.  

"What! She didn't say anything before she left. What happened?" Alicia asked, dropping her fork and looking back and forth between them with wide eyes. Jake had set down his coffee cup and was waiting to hear what they had to say. 

"She said us being together was insane and that she wouldn't stand for it." Nick said with a shake of his head before looking to Troy. 

"I told her about our little discussion regarding her options and then I told her not to come back until she was willing to actually talk to us." Troy added, going back to picking at the last of his breakfast. 

"Well that explains why she was in such a hurry to leave that morning." Jake said, scratching at the back of his head. "You think she's going to cooperate?" 

"Who knows. Every time I think I know what she's capable of she surprises me." Nick said with a sigh as he pushed his tray way. Half the food untouched as his stomach was starting to roll again. 

"Well, she's due back tomorrow with another truckload of water, so we'll find out soon enough." Jake said giving the two of them a sympathetic look. "Until then, why don't the two of you take another day off? The militia will survive another day without you." 

Troy looked from his brother to Nick, giving him a smile before looking to Jake again. "Alright. Gives me time to hang those shelves and cabinets that Nick didn't finish." He said with a grin. 

"Hey! I would have gotten them finished eventually. It's not my fault that morning sickness is a lie of epic proportions that happens all day long." Nick argued, with a roll of his eyes. 

"Yeah, yeah. Just let me do this. You want to stay in that house and it needs more work before it's suitable to have a family living in it again." Troy said with a fond smile. 

"The two of you are being all domestic and cute. I think I'm gonna be sick." Alicia said, making a gagging motion with her hands complete with sticking her tongue out at the two of them when they looked at her. 

Jake just laughed and put an arm around Alicia to pull her against his side. "Come one, be nice." He mumbled into her hair as he leaned in to kiss the top of her head. 

"Now who's being all domestic and cute." Nick teased, sticking his own tongue out at his little sister who just flipped him off in turn.

Troy chuckled as he moved to stand and grabbed both his and Nick's trays. "I'll take care of these." He said, ignoring Nick's attempt to take his own try back and walking away before the younger man could protest.

With a shake of his head Nick stood from the table, turning to walk after Troy. "I'll catch you two later." He said with a small wave before leaving his sister and her boyfriend to follow after his own. 

When Nick caught up to Troy he had already handed their trays off to the people on dish duty today. "Ready to go home?" 

Troy turned and smiled at that, grabbing Nick's hand in his own before nodding. "Ready." 

With that they headed off to work on fixing up Nick's house a bit more. Mostly it was Troy working and Nick ordering him around between bouts of nausea. By the time night fell, all of the cabinets and shelves were up and the windows had new shutters. There was still work to be done, but it could wait for another day. 


	7. Butterflies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! I was gonna hold off on posting, but were getting a pretty nasty snow storm that might turn into an ice storm, so I'm doing as much writing as I can with m down time at work. Hope you all enjoy!

Three months. They went an entire three months without Madison so much as sparing them a second glance whenever they saw her around the ranch. She didn't confront them, she didn't cause a fuss, she didn't even fight it when Nick went back on regular guard duty with the militia. Though some of the alphas he worked with had a few choice words about how he should be resting and taking better care of himself. He flipped them off and went about his job like it was nothing. 

Other than that, those three months were uneventful. Boring actually. Troy helped Nick finish fixing up the house. It now had all the fixings of a proper home again, like the fire never happened. Troy had even surprised Nick one day with a crib for the baby. He made it himself while Nick was on patrol duty for the evening. 

Much to Nick's annoyance he had started to show at about three months along. He knew it was going to happen eventually, especially with how slim he naturally was. Troy had noticed it before Nick had, his stomach getting a bit softer and starting to grow a little rounder every day. 

Nick was laying on their bed, still in his camo fatigues with his boots off and his jacket unbuttoned. Troy was puttering around their tiny kitchen making them both a late dinner as Nick rubbed at the swell of his stomach. 

"I'm going to need a bigger jacket soon." He said, hand idly rubbing over the area below his bellybutton that had been getting a weird fluttering feeling off and on all day. 

"I'll grab one for you before we head out tomorrow. You want a large? Or should I go straight for the extra large?" Troy asked, not looking up from where he was chopping some peppers to add to the stir-fry he was going to make for dinner. Nick's nausea had finally eased up so that he could generally eat real food again without issue, and Troy was doing his best to make use of his meager cooking skills. 

"Extra large. I'll probably have to swap jackets again in a month or two if you don't." Nick said with a tired sigh as he continued to rub his belly. "I feel like I've got butterflies in my stomach." He grumbled as said fluttering started again beneath his palm.  

Troy stopped his cutting to look over at Nick, his eyes trailing the movement of Nick's hand. "You feeling sick?" He asked, setting the knife down on the counter and coming over to stand beside their bed. 

Nick shook his head at that. "No, I literally mean there's a fluttering in my stomach." He said before leaning over just enough to grab one of Troy's hands and pull him closer. Troy moved willingly, coming to crouch beside the bed by Nick's hips. 

Once Troy was settled Nick pulled his t-shirt up and placed Troy's hand on the swell of his stomach where he had been holding his own a moment ago. "Just wait a sec." He said, watching Troy's face as he stared down at his hand on Nicks bare stomach. 

After a few short beats the fluttering started again and Troy's eyes went wide. "Is it supposed to do that?" He asked, looking from his hand to Nick's eyes. 

"Yeah, it's in that book you started reading last night. It's, like, a precursor to kicking. It feels fucking weird, right?" Nick explained with a laugh as Troy looked down at his hand again and rubbed it back and forth a bit. 

"Yeah." Troy agreed with a click of his tongue before taking his hand away and leaning down to nuzzle at Nicks belly. "What do you think, boy, or girl?" Troy asked, letting his eyes slip closed as he felt the fluttering against his cheek, his ear pressed to Nick's skin so he could hear his heartbeat. 

Nick sighed and brought a hand to run through Troy's hair lazily, his own eyes slipping closed now. "I dunno. I kind of think it's a girl." He said with a small smile, scratching at Troy's scalp lightly before returning to running his fingers through his soft brown hair. "What do you think?" 

Troy hummed, nuzzling Nicks stomach again when the fluttering stopped. "I honestly have no idea... I'll be happy either way though." 

"Who knew you were such a sap." Nick teased, smiling down at Troy when he opened his ocean blue eyes to look up at Nick from where he still had his cheek pressed to Nick's stomach. 

"You're one to talk. I heard you singing to the baby the other day when I was coming back from patrol." Troy teased back as he finally forced himself back up and turned to go back to making their dinner. "What were you singing anyway? Sounded like you were butchering a lullaby." 

"It's not a lullaby. It's called Rain, and it's been stuck in my head for, like, a month. My dad used to listen to it in the car all the time." Nick said as he pulled his shirt back down over the slight swell of his stomach. 

"Can you sing it for me?" Troy asked, not looking at Nick and instead back to the food he'd been in the middle of preparing. 

Nick snorted at that. "You're serious?" He asked, pushing himself up onto his elbows as he looked over at Troy. 

"Yes, I'm serious. If you're gonna sing it to our baby I wanna know it so I can sing it too..." Troy said, tone going a bit sheepish as he finished chopping the last few peppers. 

With a chuckle Nick flopped back down onto the bed. "Fine, but I'm warning you now, I'm not a very good singer." 

"Quit stalling." Troy said with a chuckle as he moved over to their little wood stove and set up a cast-iron skillet to cook the rest of their dinner in beside an already bubbling pan of rice. "If it helps pretend I'm not here." 

Heaving a sigh Nick closed his eyes and started to hum the melody to the song before taking a deep breath and starting to sing softly. "Take the photograph, it'll be the last. Not a dollar or a crowd could ever keep me here... I don't have a past, I just have a chance. Not a family or honest plea remains to say... Rain, rain, go away, come again another day, all the world is waiting for the sun... Is it you I want, or just the notion of? A heart to wrap around so I can find my way around? Safe to say from here, you're getting closer now. We are never sad 'cause we are not allowed to be... Rain, rain, go away, come again another day, all the world is waiting for the sun... Rain, rain, go away, come again another day, all the world is waiting for the sun..." 

Troy stirred the contents of the hot skillet idly as he watched Nick sing softly. When he had heard Nick the other night, it was through the open window as he walked home. As soon as his feet hit the porch Nick had stopped and pretended like he hadn't been doing anything but laying on their bed as he waited for Troy to return. 

Now Nick was letting his voice raise in volume a bit with the chorus before dropping again, his tone staying soft. When he finished he opened his eyes and blinked a few times. 

"I can't remember the next verse..." He admitted, looking over to Troy with a tired smile. 

"That's okay... It's a nice song..." Troy said with a smile before looking to their dinner and giving the contents of the skillet another stir. 

"It's depressing, is what it is." Nick said with a snort. "But then again, it's way better than singing about bridges falling and the plague." 

Troy chuckled at that. "Yeah. I never did care for songs like that as a kid. I liked the songs my mother listened to when big Otto wasn't around." He said as he removed the cookware from the stove and stared to dish out their dinner. 

"Let me guess, country and blues?" Nick asked, sitting up and turning to put his feet on the floor. 

"Classic rock, actually. Her favorite song was Beautiful Loser by Bob Segar and The Silver Bullets." Troy said matter-o-factly as he finished plating their meal and turned to bring their plates over to the table. 

"Seriously?" Nick asked as he came to take a seat at the table across from Troy. 

"Yup." Troy said as he picked up his fork and poked at his dinner. "Anyway, you know I like metal, is it really a surprise that at least one of my parents had good taste in music?" 

"We have very different ideas of what constitutes good taste in music." Nick said with a shake of his head.  

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with my taste in music." Troy said, pointing at Nick with his fork before stabbing a piece of chicken and stuffing it in his mouth. 

"It's all just people screaming and abusing their instruments." Nick argued, grinning at the blank stare Troy countered with. 

"Alright, what kind of music do you like then?" Troy asked before stuffing another bite of his dinner into his mouth.  

Nick just shrugged and looked down at his food. "I dunno... Anything that I could lose myself in... I only ever really listened to music when I was getting high or when I was clean and trying not to think." He explained, picking at his food a bit before taking a bite of rice and vegetables. 

"Trying not to think about what?" Troy found himself asking without meaning to. He usually steered clear of anything relating to the subject of Nick's addiction. His mother hated anyone even casually mentioning her drinking, and a small part of him was worried that Nick might react as badly as she did at bringing this sort of subject up. 

"Life?" Nick said with a shrug. "I never felt like I knew where I was going or what I was doing, even when people tried to help me. So, I'd run away and get high and it didn't matter anymore. When I couldn't do that I'd snag Alicia's iPod and listen to whatever she had on it. If I couldn't do that I'd take my mom's laptop and hide in the garage with it and listen to random playlists on youtube until I passed out." 

"What about now? You still feel like you don't know where you're going?" Troy asked carefully, not sure if this was a subject that was safe. Nick's scent wasn't changing as he spoke, so he wasn't sure if the subject was bothering him or not. 

"Now? Now I feel like the rest of the world caught up to me instead of it being the other way around." He said with a small smile as he pushed the contents of his plate around with his fork. "I feel like this is the world I was born for. All the things I learned running away from what the old world expected of me prepared me for surviving in this new world." 

Troy smiled back at Nick. "I'm glad I found you." He said out of the blue. 

Nick blinked up at Troy at those words. "Yeah?" 

"Yeah." Troy said with a nod, still smiling. "The others on the ranch? They don't get it. They all wish for the world to go back to the way it used to be. But me? I spent my whole life preparing for the end, and now that it's here I have a purpose. I'm not just waiting around to be useful anymore. You're the only other person that gets it. Neither one of us fit in the old world, but we fit here." 

Nick rolled his eyes but smiles regardless. "I'm glad I found you too. Now eat your damn dinner." He said, tone fond. 

"Yes, dear." Troy said with a chuckle.  

They finished their dinner and turned in after that. The militia was going on a supply run to the bazaar tomorrow and they needed to be up early to get ready to leave. 


	8. Deal or No Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand we're back! Hope you all enjoy this chapter, I enjoyed writing it.  
> I want to remind you all that I don't speak Spanish, so if you do feel free to correct me because i'm relying on google here.

The initial drive to the bazaar was filled with the chatter of Blake and Coop and the background thrum of Troy's music. Troy was driving, Nick riding shotgun, with Blake and Coop riding in the small back seat of the pickup. A few of the other militia members road in another truck that followed close behind.

"So, we have to trade to gain entrance to this place, just to set up other trades?" Coop asked from behind Nick.

"That’s the long and short of it, yeah." Troy said, voice a touch annoyed.

"And we can't bring our weapons in?" Coop double checked.

"For fucks sake, Cooper, yes! And if you ask one more question you can be the one to stay with the vehicles while we get the job done." Troy barked, his grip on the wheel tightening. He had gone over all of this before they had left two hours ago. When he asked if anyone had questions Cooper had said nothing. He really hated when he had to repeat himself.

"Hey, Troy, take it easy." Nick said, side eyeing Troy from his position slouched in his seat with his feet up on the dash. "What's gotten into you today?"

Troy huffed out a breath before speaking. "I'm just not in the mood for bullshit, alright?"

"What else is new." Nick said with a roll of his eyes. "Seriously though, what's got you so worked up?" He asked, shifting around in his seat to face Troy with his back to his door.

"I have a bad feeling about this place. The way Madison described it, I don't think we should be dealing with these kind of people." He admitted begrudgingly.

"Then why are we going?" Coop asked before cursing under his breath thanks to Blake punching him in the leg for being so stupid.

"Because we need to get replacement parts for the farming equipment, and if you didn't notice, every store within a fifty-mile radius has either already been raided, or was burned to the ground when the cities were fire bombed." Troy replied. "Now, are you done asking stupid questions?" Troy asked with an angry growl, glaring at Coop's reflection in the rearview mirror.

"Yes, sir." Coop said. The smell of frightened beta now coming from the back seat to mix with the smell of irritated alpha coming from the front.

Nick rolled down his window to help clear the smell form the cab. "Look, we'll make the trade quick. We just have to go in, find out who has the parts, and make the offer. If they don't want what we have then we'll just have to expand our search. They can't have hit every tractor supply store left out there." He rationalized as he leaned so his face was catching the breeze from the window. He may be past the morning sickness stage of his pregnancy, but that didn't mean that strong chemo signals and other smells couldn't still make his stomach turn in an instant.

Troy seemed to calm a bit at that logic, though the scent of pissed off alpha was still rolling off him in waves.

The rest of the drive to the bazaar was relatively silent. Neither man in the back seat wanting to risk irritating Troy further. Nick opted for turning up the volume on Troy's music, knowing the alpha would zone out at least a little bit between listening to the heavy beat and focusing on driving.

Nick ended up handling the trade to gain entrance to the bazaar. It cost them 2 AR-15's, but they were in with enough credit to hopefully help them sweeten any deal for the tractor parts. Troy watched with a smile as Nick sweet talked the girl at the fence, convincing her the guns should be worth more than her original estimate because they were in top working order and even came with a full clip each.

In the end it worked out that Nick, Troy, Coop and Blake went in together. They left two men at the trucks and one by the main entrance. Everyone was in civilian clothes and had a shortwave radio. If anyone who was going inside got separated, or there was an issue everyone was to meet back at the trucks at the first sign of trouble.

It didn't take long to find someone with access to the parts they needed that was willing to make a trade for a truck load of crops and three AR's. It was a little more than Troy wanted to trade, but it would be worth it for the parts they needed to keep everything in working order for the foreseeable future.

They set up a trade for a week's time in the parking lot of the bazaar since it was neutral territory. 

"See, that wasn't so bad." Nick said, locking arms with Troy as they walked to the cantina section of the bazaar. They still had enough credits to get lunch for everyone before heading home.

"Only 'cause you handled most of the negotiation." Troy said, tone a little tense as they walked through the busy marketplace. He smelled a bit nervous when Nick leaned close.

Nick snorted a laugh. "Yeah, well, you didn't seem comfortable talking to him or his pet snake."

"What do you think he feeds that thing?" Troy mused, face scrunching at the thought of the man they traded with finding anything to feed the 7foot Brazilian rainbow boa that had been lounging on a couch back in their section of the bazaar.

"Well, I saw some collars on a table nearby, sooooo... Small dogs?" Nick speculated, earning a look of disgust from the alpha on his arm.

"Waste of a good animal." Troy said with a shake of his head.

"Hey, speaking as someone who's been attacked by wild dogs and almost eaten for lunch, I'll take the snake any day." Nick said lightly, smiling at Troy and not looking where he was going until he walked right into another omega carrying a tray of drinks at the edge of the cantina.

Between, Nick, Troy, and the girl Nick ran onto, they managed to keep most of the drinks from spilling, but one did spill down the front of Nick's jacket and jeans.

"I am so sorry!" Nick said in a rush, helping the girl straighten her tray then offering her a slip with enough credits to cover the spilled drink and to buy her something for herself. She walked away in a huff to get another drink for the order she'd been carrying. Coop and Blake snuck past them to find a table and avoid the drama.

"You're soaked." Troy said, wiping some of the excess beer from Nick's jacket with his handkerchief.

"Yeah, it mostly got on my jacket though." He said as he unzipped said jacket and removed it. He gave it a shake before putting it back on and leaving it unzipped. At this point he didn't care if people in the bazaar saw his stomach. Everyone here seemed to mind their own business for the most part, and he'd seen other pregnant people walking around. It made him feel way less self-conscious about his condition. "I'll live."

Troy smiled and pocketed his handkerchief after wringing it out a bit. "So, you gonna order me lunch since I don't speak shit for Spanish?" He asked, turning with Nick toward the direction Blake and Coop went.

"I suppose." Nick said with a small smile. That smile quickly falling when he spotted a familiar figure with a pony-tail at a table not far away. He paused mid step, hoping it was just his mind playing tricks on him. A beat later the woman turned her head, and Nick felt like he'd been struck by lightning.

Luciana was sat at a table with another woman and a man on either side of her. They were talking about something animatedly, and when she turned to face the man beside her, she caught sight of Nick. Her eyes went wide at the sight of him and in an instant she was up and walking in his direction.

Troy hadn't noticed that Nick was no longer beside him until he saw Luciana out of he corner of his eye. He turned and watched as she came to stand a few steps away from Nick, both wearing matching expressions of shock. Before he knew what he was doing he was beside Nick, ready to toss the beta on her ass if she did anything to upset the younger man.

Luciana's eyes only grew wider at the sight of Troy. "Nick." She said carefully, looking from the taller man to Nick.

"Luciana." Nick said back, looking a bit dazed and eyeing the beta that left him without a word in the middle of the night over 4 months ago.

"I take it from the fact that he's here that you stayed at the ranch." She said, sneering at Troy as she spoke.

Troy growled low in his throat at her open show of distain for him. 

That snapped Nick out of his daze. "Yeah, I did. And I'm guessing you didn't find your friends in Mexicali since you're here." He said, crossing his arms over his chest and giving his best look of disinterest.

"Actually, I did. I'm here because we run trade at the bazar for the community we live in." She said, looking back and forth between Troy and Nick. Troy and stepped so he was standing a step ahead of Nick now, his posture protective.

"Well, as lovely as this has been, I've lost my appetite. Troy, let's get the others and go." He said, putting a hand on one of Troy's arms to get the alpha's attention.

As Troy started to turn to go get Blake and Coop, he stopped at the sound of a gasp escaping Luciana's lips. When he turned back, she'd stepped forward and was holding the sides of Nick's jacket open so she could see the swell of his stomach under his white t-shirt.

"Dios mio! Nick, how far along are you?" She asked, honestly sounding happy for the lover she'd abandoned. Nick looked completely stunned by her reaction.

"Almost four months." He said hesitantly.

"I'm glad you found someone else." She said, smiling now as she looked from Nick's stomach to his face. "Who's the other parent?" 

Troy cleared his throat as he stepped forwards, pulling Nick out of Luciana's grasp and wrapping an arm around his shoulders protective as he positioned himself between the two of them again. "That would be me." He said, smiling in satisfaction at the look of shock that overtook her face.

"Tienes que estar bromeando?" She asked, looking from Troy to Nick. Neither of them answered her. Troy still looking smug and Nick looking uneasy. "Nick, how could you..." She said, her voice dripping with disgust.

"How could I?" Nick parroted with a laugh, his tone going manic as he spoke. "You left me, Luciana! I offered you a life together and you slipped out in the middle of the night instead of being honest with me! You have no right to judge me after that!"

"This doesn't end well, Nick. You and I both know it. He's going to break your heart." She said, expression and tone going cold as she looked at the two of them.

"You mean like you broke it first!" Nick spat, all the hurt and angry he felt towards the woman bubbling to the surface in those few words.

Troy grabbed Nick's shoulders, forcing him to turn away from the woman. "Nick, come on, let's go." Troy said, looking around anxiously. Several of the people in the cantina were standing now and watching them closely. Blake and Coop were at their sides, both taking protective stances around Nick similarly to Troy. 

Without a second glance Nick turned and made his way to the exit, the others in toe. He didn’t see the look of shock on Luciana's face at his words or the tears in her eyes as her friends dragged her off in another direction.

No one said a word the whole way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, we'll be back with another chapter once I've taken care of some requests on my blog! See you then!


	9. Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooookay. So, I've started writing on a schedule. I write something, take a day or two off when it's finished to keep my brain from burning out, then I write something else and the cycle continues. I'm sorry about the long wait and I'll try to get back to this story again soon.

There was a group of people waiting for them when they returned from the Bazaar. Madison was among the group, face set in a look of irritation as she watched the little convoy pull to a stop outside the residential area of the ranch.

Nick was out of the truck before Troy even had a chance to kill the engine. He'd been silent the entire ride, and with the smell of upset omega and burnt lemon orchard rolling off of him none of the other men had dared to speak.

"There you are! What the hell were you thinking, Nick! You shouldn't be going on missions in your condition!" Madison started in as soon as Nick set foot out of the truck, her ton sharp and voice booming.

Nick's steps didn't falter as he attempted to brush past his mother. He was in no fucking mood and he really just wanted to go take a shower maybe shoot some cans out back of his house to blow off steam.

"Hey!" Madison snapped, grabbing Nick's arm hard enough to make him spin mid step and come to a halt facing her with a wince. "Don't you dare try to ignore me! I was worried about you, Nick. You shouldn't be doing anything dangerous in your condition. Think of the baby!"

Nick yanked his arm away from his mother's grip with another wince, he was going to have a pretty good bruise later. "Nothing about this trip was dangerous, mom. And for what it's worth, I wish I had never gone on the stupid mission! Now if you're done berating me in front of half the ranch, I'd like to go take a shower and put on some clothes that haven't been soaked in beer."

Madison's jaw dropped at her son's outburst and subsequent storming off.

Troy stepped beside Madison then, watching as Nick disappeared around the corner of one of the bunk houses with Alicia following hot on his tail.

"Care to explain what's got my son in such a huff?" Madison asked, turning her head and leveling Troy with an unimpressed look.

"Aside from your blindsiding him before he was even out of the truck? We ran into Luciana at the Bazaar. They had words and all that repressed anger he was feeling towards her finally came out. He's been keyed up ever since." Troy explained, scratching the back of his head and looking from where Nick had last been to meet Madison's gaze.

"What do you mean they had words? What exactly happened, Troy?" Madison asked, ignoring the comment about her blindsiding Nick in favor of giving Troy the stink eye and focusing on the fact that they had run into Luciana.

"She found out I'm the other parent to Nick's child and told him I was gonna break his heart. He snapped and told her she already broke it, then we left." He explained with a shrug before turning to head for his brother's house. He needed to brief Jake and Walker about how the trip went.

"Did you at least set up a trade for the parts before that disaster?" Madison asked with a tired sigh, raising a hand to rub at her temple. Of course, thing's couldn't just go down the way they were supposed to.

Troy snorted at that. "Course, we did. Nick handled most of the negotiations, actually. He got us a decent deal too. We ran into Luciana on our way to grab lunch afterwards. That's how Nick got beer dumped all over him. Bumped into a server in the cantina and when we went around to grab a seat with Blake and Coop the two of them spotted each other. You should have seen Nick after..." Troy trailed off, eyes going unfocused at the memory of how hurt and angry Nick had looked.

Madison nodded her understanding before leveling Troy with an earnest look. "I'm gonna offer you a little motherly advice, Troy. Give Nick some time alone to cool down, and when you do go back to him, bring food. Something sweet. He's going to be beating himself up about how things went down and he's going to feel like crap and when he feels like that one of the only things that really helps is sweets."

Blinking down at Madison, Troy nodded. "Any suggestions?" He asked, watching her turn to walk away.

She huffed a soft laugh. "Bake him something if you know how. He always had a weakness for cookies." She said with a fond smile before walking away.

Troy watched her go, a hand coming up to scratch at his bit of a beard in thought. He could sort of bake. He hadn't in years though. Big Otto hadn't been a fan of sweets. So, he didn't ever let Troy bake anything that wasn't stuffed with meat and gravy.

Groaning in frustration, he finally climbed back into his truck and headed towards the Otto family homestead. He still needed to brief Jake on how the mission had gone, and now he needed to raid the kitchen to boot.

Jake was sitting in one of the old deck chairs out front when the truck pulled up to the house. A smile on his face as he watched his brother approach and climb out of his vehicle. "There you are. How'd it go?" He asked, waving a hand in invitation for Troy to come sit in the vacant chair beside him.

"The mission was a success." Troy said as he came to sit heavily in the old chair, the wood creaking under the strain of his weight. "Nick handled everything; we're meeting up in a week to make the trade. A truckload of crops and three AR-15's for all the parts we need." Heaving a sigh Troy carried on to the less happy part of the tale. "We ran into Luciana after...."

Jake sighed as well and put a hand on his little brother's shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze. "I'm guessing that didn't go well."

Troy snorted a humorless laugh. "Shit hit the fan after she saw Nick's stomach. She was so happy for him right up until she learned I'm the other parent... She said some things and Nick just snapped. You should have seen him, Jake. He was so hurt and there was nothing I could do about it... I still don't know what to do..."

Jake squeezed his brothers shoulder again before finally taking his hand away. "You'll figure out what to do, Troy. You always do."

"This is different. Figuring out how to deal with an issue on the ranch is one thing. But, this? I'm not good with other peoples feelings, Jake. Not really. He's really hurting right now." He said with a sigh, hand coming up to scrub at his face in frustration. "Madison told me to just give him some time then show up baring food. Like showing up with a tray of cookies will fix everything."

"Who says it won't??" Jake asked, giving Troy a smile.

"Well... I mean... I don't know... Just seems silly that-"

"Troy, you said yourself you're not good with other people's emotions, so trust me here. When someone's mom tells you what'll make them feel better, you listen. Believe me, little brother, if Madison say's bringing Nick cookies will help, odds are the cookies really will help." Jake said as he moved to stand and offering Troy a hand up.

Troy took the offered hand, blinking at his brother in mild confusion as he was pulled to standing. "Okay... I guess I can give it a shot... I need to use your kitchen though."

"I figured." Jake said with a grin. "Hey, I found your mom's recipe box the other day. I bet Nick would like those cookies she used to make for the school bake sales when we were kids."

"Do we even have the ingredients for those?" Troy asked, following his big brother into the house.

"I think so. If not, I can go on a run to the pantry." Jake said easily.

Troy rolled his eyes, grateful for his big brothers help.

On the other side of the ranch Nick was standing under the spray of his shower, letting the hot water hit him right in the face for a long moment before leaning forward and letting his forehead rest against the cool tile as water cascaded down his back.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go to the bazaar and kick her ass?" Alicia asked from outside the bathroom. She was sitting on the floor with her back to the wall beside the open door. She'd sat there and refused to leave until she was sure Nick was okay.

"Can you please just drop it? I'm done talking about her. She was there, I saw her, she saw me, we argued, I told her she broke my heart, end of story. I don't want to think about her ever again, alright? I just want to enjoy my shower and forget this day ever happened." Nick said loudly, voice carrying over the sound of water on skin and ceramic.

"Fine. You want me to get out your sweats and make you some cocoa?" Alicia conceded as she moved to stand. 

Nick sighed and cracked a smile at the offer. "Please?" He asked, voice sweet.

When Nick finally shut off the water he found his favorite sweats and t-shirt waiting for him on the bathroom sink. He could smell the hot chocolate waiting for him as he got dressed and moved out into the living area of the little house.

Alicia was sitting across the foot of the bed, her own mug in hand as she sat with her back to the wall and her knees drawn up to her chest.

Nick picked up his own mug and joined his sister on his bed, he sat with his knees pulled up as well, though the swell of his stomach prevented him from drawing his legs as close as he used to be able to. He sighed and rubbed at his stomach with his free hand and raised his mug to his lips with the other to take a sip.

"I know you don't want to talk about her." Alicia began, giving Nick a hard look when he rolled his eyes at her. "But, I need to say this. Luciana was an idiot and she didn't deserve you. Look at what you've built here Nick? What you have now? She chose not to have this life with you and that's on her, not you. And for what it's worth, I'm glad you have this life with Troy and not Luciana. Because even if she had stayed, she would never have appreciated it. Troy appreciates it, he appreciates you in a way Luciana never did."

Nick smiled at his sister before leaning in and resting his head on her shoulder, her own head tilting to rest against his in turn. "Thanks, Licia."

The two sat in relative silence after that, both enjoying their hot chocolate and time together. When their drinks were gone Alicia left Nick with the promise to come back later with the stuff to make grilled cheese and brownies.

Not long after she left Nick dozed off to the sound of light rain hitting the roof, his body wrapped around the oversized body pillow that Troy had made him when he started having trouble getting comfortable at night.

Nick awoke about an hour later to the front door creaking open and Troy stepping inside, his hair and jacket wet from the rain. He had a bottle of milk in one hand and a tupperware container tucked under his arm. He set both items down on the table beside the door before shucking off his wet jacket and turning to give Nick a small smile. "Hey."

"Hey." Nick parroted, pushing himself up to sitting. "I wasn't sure you were coming back."

"Why wouldn't I? This is my home too..." Troy said, confusion evident in his voice and face.

"I was kind of an asshole after the whole Luciana thing..." Nick said sheepishly.

"You were upset." Troy said with a small shrug. "If someone did to me what she did to you, I'd have snapped too. You had every right to be upset with her, Nick. And you had every right to react like that. You were holding all that in for months, I get needing time to cool off after."

"That's oddly insightful of you." Nick said, a smile slowly spreading across his lips.

"I had some time to think about it. And I talked to Jake." Troy admitted with a nod before kicking off his wet boots.

"So, what's in the box?" Nick asked after a moment, remembering the square tupperware sitting on the table beside Troy.

Troy blinked in confusion a moment before remembering himself then grabbing the container up and coming to sit on the bed beside Nick. "Cookies." He said, opening the lid. "I don't know if they're any good..."

Nick eyed the oddly flat cookies. They looked like they'd melted, then edges brown and crispy looking, with weird lumps and chocolate chips all throughout. "What kind?" They smelled amazing, despite the odd appearance.

"Goldmine cookies. My mother used to make them. They have rice cereal, chocolate chips and toffee pieces in them. That's why they look weird, the toffee melts in the oven and makes the edges crisp." Troy explained, picking one up and turning it over.

Nick picked up one as well, smiling at Troy before taking a bite. The edge of the cookie was crunchy, but the insides were chewy and sweet. Nick moaned at the flavor before taking another bite. "Dude, why have you never made these for me before? They're amazing!"

Troy grinned and shrugged self-consciously. "I never made them before. You really like 'em?" He asked before finally taking a bite of his own cookie. It was good. Way better than he'd expected. It almost tasted like when his mom would make them.

"I do. They're better than my mom's cookies." Nick said after swallowing and picking up a second cookie in his free hand like an excited child. "You okay, you look like you've seen a ghost?" 

Troy blinked, looking from the cookie in his hand to Nick's concerned face. "I'm good. Just wasn't expecting them to taste like hers." He said honestly. They'd talk about his mother a few times. The thing's she'd done to him. How one minute she'd be the perfect loving mother and the next she could be the cold bitter drunk that locked him in the basement for days on end.

Nick gave a sad smile and leaned so his forehead was resting against Troy's as he looked him in the eyes. "I get it. I tried making a couple of my dad's recipes after he died. Every one of them made me tear up at the first bite. Mom and Alicia too."

Troy returned Nick's sad smile with one of his own. "Want to help me polish these off then take a nap?"

"Sounds like a plan. Alicia said she'd be by later with the stuff to make grilled cheese and brownies." Nick said with a smirk before taking another bite of his cookie.

Troy just rolled his eyes, Madison wasn't kidding about Nick having a sweet tooth when he'd been upset. The two finished off the milk and cookies before Troy changed into his own pair of sweats and climbed into bed behind Nick. With a full belly and the scent of each other's contentment they both fell asleep right away, neither one moving a muscle until Alicia and Jake showed up that night with dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those curious about the cookies Troy made Nick, they are real and you can see what they look like [~Here~](https://meteora-writes.tumblr.com/post/170846032828/the-infamous-goldmine-cookie-mentioned-in-chapter)

**Author's Note:**

> Like my work? Swing by [My Tumblr](https://meteora-writes.tumblr.com/ask) with a request/prompt?  
> Wanna know what I'm writing next? Check out my [Writing Queue](https://meteora-writes.tumblr.com/Queue)


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